Post: #1

So I bought a Breville juicer last week. Right now i am juicing once a day and am hoping to go to twice a day. I would love to do a juice fast but I am still not sure if I can handle it. I was planning on doing a 10 day and then if it was going well continue on for a total of 30 days.

I have been eating healthier in general lately, exercising more, quit smoking in March, quit drinking in soda in April, so I think I am ready. Anyone who has fasted...how long did it take to adjust to just having juice? As in how long were you hungry all day? I know i could do it if I lived alone, but I don't and will still have to prepare meals for the rest of my family. We'll see.


Feel free to post any tips or recipes. I have a few books...The Juicing Bible and The Everything book about Juicing.

Post: #2

I juice every sunday. I try to juice every day but sometimes that isn't always feasible so I freeze individual portions (4-6 oz rubbermaid containers work well). Before bed I take one out and fridge thaw it for the next day if I know I'm going to be busy. Freezing just suspends enzymatic activity instead of destroy it with heat. It isnt as good as the fresh stuff but it works in a pinch.

The problem with cooking and canning is that one is essentially consuming dead atoms (cancer bait). The body has to expend energy utilizing it or even removing it, rather than just shuttling live atoms to hungry cells within minutes.

I like being able to get the nutrition out of veggies without having to digest them all. You can drink 2 lbs of carrots and a 10 oz package of spinach but don't try eating it. I have no real advice on fasting bc Im on the "see food" diet. However, I do know people who have lost 10 lbs or more in 2 weeks juice fasting and cutting out sodas and hi gly carbs.

The veggies I drink and have found to be the most benefit to me personally: Spinach, carrot, celery, apple.. in that order.
Raw spinach juice is ROUGH so I need to cut it with apple. I eat the pulp then run the carrots n celery thru. I chase it with mix of 3 cups distilled h2o, a tsp centrum liquid multi, 5g of BCAA, ~30-40 g sucrose, 2 tsp EV coconut oil, dash of lemon juice. I do this after workouts. Sometimes you get lightheaded bc your body just got such a well rounded nutrient profile.

Lately Ive been experimenting with water kefir grains.

Post: #3

Yeah, it would be so much easier to juice fast if you were a sage living in the mountains

But, if you do want to fast, and you still have a family that wants you to cook for them- it is possible. And, it gets easier every time you do it (as with anything).

It's easier if you don't start with the ten day fast. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead makes it sound like this is an easy place to start, and I love that documentary for motivating people to try it. But, there are easier ways to adjust.

If you are already juicing every day, you are on an awesome path. Something you could consider before doing a juice fast is doing a day or two of juicing and eating only raw foods like fresh fruit (watermellon, grapes, apples, peaches, pineapple- all fresh) and salads with walnuts instead of croutons and advacado or fresh, homemade salsa in stead of dressing (chop or blend tomatoes, peppers of your choice, onions, garlic if you please and a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar, balsamic, red wine, rice, or white vinegar... you can find recipes on line or make your own). Peppers are great for your circulatory system and metabolism among the many other benefits they offer.

Doing a day or two of all raw, fresh foods helps your body adjust to living without all the processed comfort foods that it knows and has come to love (macaroni and cheese, oh how I miss you and think of you fondly. I will never forget those times we shared). No, but really, doing these sorts of raw food fasts are still pretty beneficial. They do not give your digestive system a complete break, but they give it a break from a plethora of detrimental substances (hydrogenated oils, an overdose of omega 6, the insane amounts of salt and refined sugars that are in american food, the list goes on for days). At the same time your body is getting a major influx of the essential enzymes of which all cooked food is completely void. Your body can now take a break from fighting toxins and start putting these enzymes, minerals, vitamins, silica and nutrition to whatever part of the body that would benefit from it.

That is the awesome thing about the human body. It is forever recreating and rebuilding itself based on our current thoughts and actions. I used mindfulness, yoga and nutrition to grow several inches in my mid twenties. And that is nothing compared to some studies out there.

Whenever i fast, I do two raw food days before the fast and two raw food days after the fast. This allows my digestive system to ease back into things. In my late teens, when I was still getting used to all this, I would mess up some times. That does not undo all the wonderful progress one has made. The fast was still beneficial. But, if you listen to your boyfriend and eat a burrito right after coming off a fast, it may feel like you have been punched in the gut.

I ate an apple once first thing in the morning after three days of fasting (so, four nights really). That one hurt badly, as well. Watermelon is an easier way to start. Or, a small salad has worked well for me. Fruit also is really easy/ friendly on the digestive system. From an anthropological standpoint, I believe human beings would do well to eat mostly fruits- less sweet ones like cucumbers mostly along with a bit of sweet fruit.

Oh shit, Halo! I am so excited for you that you are experiencing what optimal nutrition is doing for you. All these excellent choices you are making are so incredibly beneficial. The things you will experience on a juice fast sound crazy unless you are experiencing them first hand. It is sooooo cool.

A smoothie in the morning, a ton of juice throughout the day and homemade veggie broth in the evening is also a good way to adjust to fasting. I still noticed all the benefits when doing it this way. Just stay away from orange juice and bottled juice, if you can.

I used to work at the olive garden and hang out with a bunch of people at my house while I was fasting. If you are drinking so much pure, sustaining nourishment, it isn't bad at all. I would hang out with people while they ate decadent chocolates. When you are fasting, your sense of smell becomes very heightened. The smell of these chocolates is fantastic. But, at the same time I did not crave them.

It helped that there was a juice bar across from the olive garden. My favorite drink there was carrot, beet and pineapple. This is all sugar though, and probably not the healthiest choice. I wouldn't do that on a daily basis, but it got me through some crazy busy shifts.

Things I would juice at home were spinach, apples, carrots, beets, beet greens, celery and cucumbers. Greens are very good for you. If you can not get dandelion greens in the store, see if you can not find some growing wild. As long as they are not sprayed with chemicals, they are fine to pick, wash and juice. Parsley is an easy one to find it stores. Spinach is good.

Cucumbers (which are full of silica) are amazing for your whole body, but the results really show in your skin, hair and nails. A recipe you would love would involve one cucumber (cut off the skin if it is not organic or homegrown), 1 or 2 stalks of celery, 5 or 6 strawberries and 1 apple of your preference (i like pink ladies).

When juicing it is a really good idea to put everything through the juicer two or three times. I always do 3. I juice the stuff, open the juicer, scoop out the pulp, put it in a dish, start the juicer up again and put in balls of pulp. After doing it the third time, i have twice the juice as I did after the first time. The pulp is slimy, and my husband says it looks gross. But, I have been doing this for years with pleasure. After I'm finished juicing all that, I usually cut it with a little purified water and drink it.

Ginger can be added to that recipe if you like a little spice. A nickle sized piece of fresh ginger root would add a lot a nutritional benefit and some flavor to the mix.

Thanks for posting this thread. You got me thinking about some wonderful stuff, and you're an inspiration. I may just have to do a juice fast some time soon.

Post: #4

Thanks so much AG for your insightful post. I am still at juicing once a day. I like your idea of eating raw foods only for a few days with the juicing. Sadly the main thing stopping me is finances. My kids want the juice to and my BF doesn't want a doubled grocery bill, so I will probably stay at once a day for now. I have been making cucumber, celery, apple a lot. Or variations but those are three of my staples as well as carrots. I have ginger but haven't used it yet. I rejuice the pulp too and get a much higher yield because of it. I am going grocery shopping today and am going to stock up on the produce!

Post: #5

I was on the liquid diet for a few months and it made my stomach growl nonstop. Do anyone of you have the problem?

Post: #6

(05-08-2012 12:03 PM)as33156 Wrote:  I was on the liquid diet for a few months and it made my stomach growl nonstop. Do anyone of you have the problem?

Not that I recall. I remember that apple I ate when I broke my fast making growing sounds while it pained me. But, it does not seem like it would be uncommon. I've never gone for months- 9 days at most.

Post: #7

Had carrot apple ginger yesterday and it was delicious! My mom has made me drink carrot juice most of my life and i have to choke it down but this was awesome.

Post: #8

(05-09-2012 12:03 PM)halo0073 Wrote:  Had carrot apple ginger yesterday and it was delicious! My mom has made me drink carrot juice most of my life and i have to choke it down but this was awesome.

Yeah! You add apple and ginger and it is a completely different treat, delicious like ginger snaps. Apple and pineapple can be added to the most potent greens to produce a delicious drink. That ginger is so good for you, too. Ginger root has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Thanks for reminding me I should pick some up. You're awesome!

Post: #9

(05-08-2012 10:46 AM)halo0073 Wrote:  Thanks so much AG for your insightful post. I am still at juicing once a day. I like your idea of eating raw foods only for a few days with the juicing. Sadly the main thing stopping me is finances. My kids want the juice to and my BF doesn't want a doubled grocery bill, so I will probably stay at once a day for now. I have been making cucumber, celery, apple a lot. Or variations but those are three of my staples as well as carrots. I have ginger but haven't used it yet. I rejuice the pulp too and get a much higher yield because of it. I am going grocery shopping today and am going to stock up on the produce!

I love this article by Dr.Mercola on fasting. So I've been doing carrot/celery/tomato/lemon juice & it's delicious! If you blend in an avocado, it becomes mind blowing, lol.

Post: #10

(05-08-2012 10:46 AM)halo0073 Wrote:  Thanks so much AG for your insightful post. I am still at juicing once a day. I like your idea of eating raw foods only for a few days with the juicing. Sadly the main thing stopping me is finances. My kids want the juice to and my BF doesn't want a doubled grocery bill, so I will probably stay at once a day for now. I have been making cucumber, celery, apple a lot. Or variations but those are three of my staples as well as carrots. I have ginger but haven't used it yet. I rejuice the pulp too and get a much higher yield because of it. I am going grocery shopping today and am going to stock up on the produce!

Hey Halo. I don't know how efficient your juicer is, but I find that there are ways to juice which won't actually increase your grocery bill. For example (and this only works with a few foods) you can blend your target food with water, press the water out of it in a ricer, strain that liquid with a wire mesh and drink. That seems to extract more nutrients from target foods than even expensive juicers do. A ricer and a strainer are also a LOT easier to clean.

The big downside is that it only works with certain foods. Cucumbers go right through the ricer. Spinach blends too fine. Kale works marvelously, though. The downside is that kids aren't gonna want kale juice. I'll have to see if carrots would work...

I think I need to get a sheep for the fibrous leftovers.